Dispensing carton



0. L. VINES DISPENSING CARTON May 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1955 INVENTORi Oscar L. Vines BY vmxwmmrsmmwwn ATTORNEYS May 7, 1957 o. L..VINES DISPENSING CARTON Filed Jan. 24, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 liii M H wm mmg? INVENTOR. Oscar L. Vines ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oflice 2,791,356 Patented May 7, 1957 DISPENSING CARTON Oscar L. Vines, New York, N. Y., assignor to Continental Paper Company, Ridgefield Park, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 24, 1955, Serial No. 483,609

8 Claims. (Cl. 222-456) This invention relates to folding cartons. More particularly, it relates to a novel carton construction capable of dispensing a measured quantity of granular substances such as salt or sugar.

Folding cartons capable of dispensing measured quan* tities of granular substances that have heretofore been proposed have not been entirely satisfactory or economical to use for reasons that include an undue complexity of the carton structure, the need for joining in one carton structure several separate pieces in the manufacture of the carton, and unreliability in the operation of the dispensing feature of the carton. To overcome these and other disadvantages of prior art dispensing cartons, I have devised an improved carton structure formed from a single piece of sheet material which can be easily folded and erected into a dispensing carton that is simple and reliable in operation.

The blank from which my dispensing carton is formed is comprised of six spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel. The blank is further provided with top closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side Wall panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal told line, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto "along a second longitudinal fold line. The bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels (i. e. two of the side wall panels that form matching opposed walls of the carton when the carton blank is erected) are formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of these bottom closure panels opposite the second longitudinal fold lines and toward said longitudinal told line. The bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels is provided with (a) two spaced cut lines normal to the outboard edge of this bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the second of the two longitudinal fold lines, and (11) three fold lines parallel to one another and to the longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of the spaced out lines, the second of these fold lines connecting the spaced cut lines an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line, and the third of these fold lines connecting the spaced cut lines substantially intermediate the first and second fold lines. The blank is further provided with a out line or opening disposed normal to the lower edge of the internal partition panel and extending inwardly therefrom.

The carton blank of my invention is folded to format dispensing carton comprising four side walls, a top closure wall, a bottom closure wall comprising at least two layers of sheet material, and an internal partition that divides the interior of the carton into a storage compartment and a dispensing compartment. Thebottom edge of the internal partition is-formed with an inverted channel-shaped opening, and the innermost layer of the bottom closure wall is formed with an upstanding inverted channel providing communication between the storage compartment and the dispensing compartment of the carton. The exterior wall of the dispensing compartment of the carton is advantageously formed with perforations that permit a discharge opening to be formed in the wall whereby granular material entering the dispensing compartment through the inverted channel at the bottom of the carton may be discharged from the dispensing compartment through said discharge opening.

Other features and advantages of my novel dispensing carton construction will become apparent from the description of the drawings of which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a carton blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton pursuant to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the semi-erected carton prior to the closure of the bottom end thereof,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the semi-erected carton showing an intermediate stage in the closure of the bottom wall of the carton;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the semi-erected carton at the final stage of closure of the bottom wall;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the erected carton with the bottom portion thereof partly broken away to show the inverted channel connecting the storage compartment with the dispensing compartment of the carton; and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the erected carton with the bottom partly broken away to show how the inverted channel rests in the inverted channel-shaped opening at the bottom of the interior partition of the carton.

The dispensing carton of my invention is formed from a single piece of sheet material, such as the paper board or cardboard customarily used in the folding carton art, that will be referred to herein as the carton blank 10. The unitary carton blank 10, as shown in Fig. l, is a roughly rectangular sheet provided with six spaced parallel fold lines 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side Wall panels 21, 22, 23 and 24, a first glue flap panel 25, an internal partition panel 26 and an end glue flap panel 27. The blank 10 is further provided with top end panels 31, 32, 33 and 34, associated with the upper ends of the side wall panels 21, 22, 23 and 24, respectively, and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line 35. In addition, the panelmay be provided with a supplementary top closure panel 36 connectedto the internal partition panel 26 along an extension 35a of the longitudinal fold line 35. Bottom closure panels 41, 42, 43 and 44 are associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels 21, 22, 23 and 24 respectively and are connected line 45. a a

The bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels (for example, the bottom closure panels 42 and 44 associated with complementary side wall panels 22 and 24, respectively) are formed with rectangular cutout areas 46 and 47, respectively, that extend inwardly from the outboard edges 48 and 49 of each of these bottom closure panels toward the second longitudinal fold line 45. The bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels (for example, the bottom closure panel 43 associated with the side wall panel 33) is provided with two spaced cut thereto along a fold lines 51 and 52 that are normal to the outboard edge cut lines 51 and 52, the second fold line 55 connecting the spaced out lines 51 and'52 an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line 54 and the third fold line 56 connecting the spaced cut lines 51 and 52- substantially intermediate the first and second fold lines. The bottom closure panel 43 is further advantageously provided with alip portion 57 extending outwardly beyond-'- the outboard edge 53 of the bottompanel. Although the lip portion 57 may have any desired configuration, in the preferred embodiment of my invention it comprises a rectangular portion terminating at its-longitudinal ends at the spaced cut lines 51 and 52'respectively. The internal partition panel 26 of the blank is provided with a channel receiving area or opening disposed at the lower edge 61. of this panel. The channel receiving opening advantageously comprises a cut line 62" disposed normal to the lower edge 61 ofthe panel26 and/or a v shaped cutout area 63 as shown in Fig. 1. Two oblique fold lines 64 and 65 are also advantageously disposed one on either side of the cut line 62 and extend from the inward end of the out line 62 tothe lower edge 61- of the partition panel 26.

The erected carton, which is divided by the interior position panel 26 into a storage compartment and a dispensing compartment as explained more fully hereinbclow, must be provided with means for discharging for granular contents of the dispensing compartment to outside the carton. This end is best achieved by forming a discharge opening in the exterior walls of the dispensing compartment of the erected carton. Accordingly two adjoining side wall panels of the carton blank 10, which panels will form the said exterior walls of the dispensing compartment (for example, side walls 23 and 24), are advantageously provided with transverse perforated lines 66, the inner ends of which perforated lines are connected by a longitudinal perforated line 67. The perforated lines 66 and 67 are disposed in the said side wall panels adjacent the adjoining upper corners thereof sothat, when the carton is erected, the said discharge opening may be formed in the exterior walls of the dispensing compartment through which opening the granular contents of the discharge compartment may be poured from the carton. When disposed in the side walls of the carton as described, the discharge opening defined by the perforated lines 66 and 67 is easily prepared for use by squeezing the horizontal top and the vertical edge of the erected carton between thumb and forefinger. The inward and upward pressure thus exerted on the edge of the carton at the intersection of perforated line 67 causes the portion of the carton wall defined by the perforated lines to tear easily and cleanly away from the adjoining wall portions. Moreover, the wall portion thus partially torn free and pressed into the dispensing compartment remains therein, thus insuring that the discharge opening' will remain clear of annoying impediments to the flow of granular material through the opening. These results are in marked contrast to the difficulty in preparing and the generally unsatisfactory performance of other more conventional forms of discharge openings.

In erecting the carton blank to form the dispensing carton of my invention, the carton is folded about the various longitudinal and transverse fold lines and is glued together when thus folded, the glue being applied to the blank as indicated by the stippled areas in Fig. 1. That is to say, glue is applied to the exposed surface of the glue flap 25, to at least one of the top end closure panels, for example, panel 33, to the bottom closure panels 42 and 44, and to the bottom closure panel 43 with the exception of the portion of that panel defined.

by the transverse cut lines 51 and 52 and the longitudinal fold lines 54 and 55. In addition, glue is applied to the concealed surface of the glue flap 27;

The carton blank 10 is folded about the transverse fold lines 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16, and the glue flap panels 25 and 27 are then glued to the complementary side, wall panels 21 and 23, respectively, as shown best in Fig. 2. The semi-erected cartonthusformed. comprises two pairs of complementary side walls comprising the four exterior walls of the carton. The interior of the carton is divided by the internal partition panel 26 into two cempartments which comprise, in the completely erected carton, the storage compartment and the discharge compartment referred to briefly hereinabove.

The bottom end of the carton is closed by first folding the bottom closure panels 42 and 44 about the longitudinal fold line 45 as shown' in Fig. 3, by then folding the bottom closure panel 43 about the fold 45 as shown in Fig. 4, and lastly by folding the bottom closure panel 41 about the fold line 45 as shown in Fig. 5.. After the first of these folding operations, the rectangular cutout areas 46 and 47 formed in the bottom closure panels 42 and 44, respectively, are aligned in the erected carton to form an elongated rectangular cutout area disposed directly below the channel receiving opening formed in the internal partition panel 26 and into which the apex of an inverted channel extends.

The inverted channel is formed by folding the bottom closure panel 43 aboutthefold' line '45 as shown-in Fig. 4 so that the inner surface of the folded panel adheres to the glue surfaces of the closure panels 42 and 44. Thc portion of' the end panel defined by the cut lines 51' and 52 and by the fold lines 54' and55 is pressed inwardly to form a V-shapcd channel the apex of which extends through the rectangular cutout areas 46 and 47 of the panels 42 and 44; The channel is thus received in the channel receiving area in the bottom edge of the internal partition panel-26, the fold line 56 forming the apex of the inverted V-shaped channel. To facilitate the erection of the carton and toform a neatly'finished bottom wall construction, the bottom panel 43 is formed with a rectangular lip area 57 the outboard end of which coincides with the outboard edge 53- of the panel when the upstanding inverted channel is formed by pressing the channel-forming' portion of the bottom closure panel 43 into the interior of the semi-erected carton. The underlying bottom closure panels 42' and 44 provide necessary support for the outer closure panel 43 when the inverted channel is being formed.

The bottom of the carton is then completely closed by folding the remaining bottom closure panel 41 about the fold line 45, as shown in Fig. 5. The innermost surface of this panel is glued to' the glue surface of the bottom closure panel 43 to-complete the measuring structure of my dispensing carton.

After the carton is filled with the desired granular material, the topof the carton is sealed by folding the top end closure panels about the: fold line 35 and then gluing these panels intheir closed position in conventional fashion. As shown best' in Figs; 5 and 6 the erected and filled carton thus comprises four side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall. The interior of the carton is divided by the internal partition panel 26 into a relatively large storage compartment 71 and a relatively small dispensing compartment 72. The bottom wall of. the carton is provided' with an upstanding inverted V-shaped channel 73 that connects the otherwise separate storage compartment 71 and dispensing compartment 72; The inverted channel 73 is received snugly in the channel receiving opening formed in the bottom edge of the internal partition panel 26.

To use the dispensing feature of my carton construction, a discharge opening is first formed in the exterior walls of the dispensing compartment 72. Asnoted hereinbefore, this discharge opening is advantageously defined by the perforated line 66 and 67 disposed at the adjoining upper corners of the side wall panels 23 and 24. The upright carton is then tipped as though to pour the granular contents of the carton through the discharge opening in conventional fashion; However, except for a predetermined measured quantity of the granular material, none of, the contentsv of the carton can reach the discharge opening. and-.bejpoured therefrom. This-measured quantity of the granular contents of the carton that does reach the discharge opening when the carton is tipped to an inverted pouring position is that which enters the discharge compartment 72 of the compartment through the inverted channel 73. The amount of this material is determined by the dimensions, that is the length and cross-sectional area, of the channel 73. As long as there remains sufficient granular material in the storage compartment of the carton to completely cover the channel 73, this predetermined amount of material will flow from the storage compartment to the discharge compartment and thence out through the discharge opening whenever the carton is tipped from its upright position to its pouring position. But when the carton is inverted to its pouring position, the mass of granular material in the storage compartment falls away from the channel 73, and in this way the amount of material transferred from the storage compartment to the discharge compartment is automatically controlled. By varying the dimensions of the channel 73, the amount of material discharged from the carton during each pouring operation can be regulated. The amount of material discharged from any given carton constructed pursuant to my invention does therefore not vary appreciably until the carton is almost completely emptied.

I claim:

1. A blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton, said blank being formed with six spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel, said blank being further provided with top end closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a second longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels being formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of said bottom closure panels opposite the second of the longitudinal fold lines and toward said longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels being provided with (a) two spaced cut lines normal to the outboard edge of said bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the second of the two longitudinal fold lines, and (b) three fold lines parallel to one another and to said longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of said spaced out lines, the second of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines an appreciable distance outwarly from the first fold line, and the third of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines substantially intermediate said first and second fold lines, the lower edge of the internal partition panel being provided with a out line disposed normal to said edge of the panel and extending inwardly therefrom.

2. A blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton, said blank being formed with six spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel, said blank being further provided with top end closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a second longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, the bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels being formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of said bottom closure panels opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line toward said longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels being provided with (a) a centrally disposed lip portion extending an appreciable distance beyond the edge of the bottom closure panel opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line, (b) two spaced cut lines normal to the outboard edge of said bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the proximate longitudinal fold line, and (c) three fold lines parallel to one another and to said longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of said spaced cut lines, the second of these fold lines connecting said spaced out lines an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line, and the third of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines substantially intermediate said first and second fold lines, the lower edge of the internal partition panel being provided with a out line disposed normal to said edge of the panel and extending inwardly therefrom.

3. A blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton, said blank being formed with six spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel, said blank being further provided with top end closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a second longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, the bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels being formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of said bottom closure panels opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line toward said longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels being provided with (a) a centrally disposed lip portion extending an appreciable distance beyond the edge of the bottom closure panel opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line, (b) two spaced cut lines disposed one on either side of said lip portion normal to the outboard edge of said bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the proximate longitudinal fold line, and (c) three fold lines parallel to one another and to said longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of said spaced out lines, the second of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line, and the third of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines substantially intermediate said first and second fold lines, the lower edge of the internal partition panel being provided with a out line disposed normal to said edge of the panel and extending inwardly therefrom, and two oblique fold lines disposed one on either side of the cut line and extending from the inward end of the out line to said lower edge of the panel.

4. A blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton, said blank being formed with six spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel, said blank being further provided with top end closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a second longitudinal fold line normal to said transverse fold lines, the bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels being formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of said bottom closure panels opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line toward said longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels being provided with (a) a centrally disposed rectangular lip portion extending an appreciable distance beyond the edge of the bottom closure panel opposite the proximate longitudinal fold line, (b) two spaced cut lines disposed one on either side of said lip portion normal to the outboard edge of said bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the proximate longitudinal fold line, and (c) three fold lines parallel to one another and to said longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of said spaced cut lines, the second of these fold lines connecting said spaced out lines an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line, and the third of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines substantially intermediate said first and second fold lines, the lower edge of the internal partition panel being provided with a triangular cutout area.

5. A dispensing carton comprising four side walls, a top closure wall, a bottom closure wall, an internal partition that divides the interior of the carton into a storage compartment and a dispensing compartment, the bottom edge of said internal partition being formed with an inverted channel-shaped opening, and an inverted channel element struck up from said bottom closure wall and received in said inverted channel-shaped opening, said inverted channel element providing communication be tween the storage compartment and the dispensing compartment of the carton.

6. A dispensing carton formed from a single piece of sheet material, said carton comprising four side walls, a top closure wall, a bottom closure wall formed from at least two layers of said sheet material, and an internal partition that divides the interior of the carton into a storage compartment and a dispensing compartment, the bottom edge of said internal partition being formed with an inverted channel-shaped opening, and one layer of the sheet material forming said bottom closure wall being formed with an upstanding inverted channel fitting snugly in said inverted channel-shaped opening and providing communication between the storage compartment and. the dispensing compartment of the carton.

7. A dispensing carton comprising four side walls, a top closure wall, a bottom closure Wall, an internal partition that divides the interior of the carton into a storage compartment and a dispensing compartment, and an inverted channel element struck up from said bottom closure wall and providing communication between the storage compartment and the dispensing compartment,

the bottom edge of said internal partition being formed with an inverted channel-shaped opening receiving said invertedv channel element, and at least one of the exterior walls of said dispensing compartment being formed with a discharge opening through which the contents of the dispensing compartment can be removed from within the carton.

8. A blank capable of being folded to form a dispensing carton, said blank being formed with spaced parallel fold lines extending transversely across the blank to define serially four side wall panels, a first glue flap panel, an internal partition panel, and an end glue flap panel, said blank being further provided with top end closure panels associated with the upper ends of the side Wall. panels and connected thereto along a first longitudinal fold line, and bottom closure panels associated with the lower ends of the side wall panels and connected thereto along a second longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panels associated with two complementary side wall panels being formed with rectangular cutout areas extending inwardly from the edge of each of said bottom closure panels opposite the second of the longitudinal fold lines and toward said longitudinal fold line, the bottom closure panel associated with one of the other side wall panels being provided with (a) two spaced cut lines normal to the outboard edge of said bottom closure panel and extending inwardly toward the second of the two longitudinal fold lines, and (b) at least two fold lines parallel to one another and to said longitudinal fold lines, the first of these three parallel fold lines connecting the inner ends of said spaced cut lines and the second of these fold lines connecting said spaced cut lines an appreciable distance outwardly from the first fold line, the lower edge of the internal partition panel being provided with a channel-shaped opening extending inwardly therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 674,055 Datow May 14, 1901 1,983,707 Rice Dec. 11, 1934 2,692,708 Frey Oct. 26, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 753,767 France Oct. 24, 1933 

